Edwin john



(Nb Model.)

E. J. FLETCHER. TRUNK Smm).v

Patented sept. 27, 1892.

mi Nunms min ce., mma-umn., wml-Immun, o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENTA OFFICE.

EDWIN Jol-1N FLETcHEaoE NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,348, dated September 27, 1892.

Application filed April 21, 1892. Serial No. 429,996. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN JOHN FLETCHER, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trunk- Stands, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement ris intended more especially for supporting the small and stronglylocked boxes-technically trunks -used in the jewelry trade; but it is capable of being usefully employed in various other situations, among which are the supporting of books and other heavy articles in'vaults-and safes and in book-cases. I have designated it and will describe it as mainly intended for supporting jewelers trunks. l

The stand holds up any required number of shelves strongly and rigidly without any support at the front, except at the base of the entire structure. Each shelf has asurface of rose-wood or other fine wood and contains within its moderate thickness iron or steel constructed and disposed so as to give great strength and rigidity.

Special provisions are made to stiifen the structure laterally, and I provide sufficient weight at the front of the base to prevent its being ever overturned by any ordinary backward pressure, as in forcing home a trunk at the top.

The' accompanying drawings form a part of this specification and represent what I consider the bestmeans of carrying out the invention.

Figure lis aside elevation of a trunk-stand complete. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 2 2 in Fig. l, and Fig. 3 is a corresponding section on the line 3 3 in Figs. l and 2. Figs. e to 10, inclusive, represent details on a larger scale. Fig. 4. is a horizontal section on the line 4. 4 in Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a corresponding section on line 5 5; Fig. 6, a corresponding section on line 6 6, and F1g.'7 a corresponding section on line 7 7 Fig. 8 1s a vertical section on the line 8 8 in Fig. l; Fig. 9 is acorresponding section on line 9 9, and Fig. lOis acorrespondingsection on line 10 lO in said figure. The remaining gures show modifications. Fig. 11 is a side elevation, Fig. 12 a front elevation, and Fig. 13 aplan view, of aform of `my invention having only two uprights. Fig. let is a horizontal section in the plane of the center of one of the shelves, showing a form of the invention having only one upright, adapted to serve in the corner of a room for what is sometimes called 'a what-not.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they appear.

Referring to Figs. l to l0, A A are sound castings of iron or steel. They may be white iron thoroughly annealed or malleable castiron, certain portions being designated, when necessary, by su pernumerals, as A A2. Each shelf is mainly of wood B, preferably rosewood or other fine strong wood, well seasoned, saturated, and varni'shed. The castings have arms concealed in the shelves. The structure is arranged to aiford strength and stiffness both vertically and laterally. The front is heavily loaded at the bottom to avoid the risk of its ever being overturned backward. The arms are designated A and are each cast integral with one of the uprights A. `Their depth at the junction is almost equal to the full thickness of the shelf, but their depth rapidly diminishes as they extend outward. A thin portion extends laterally from each, so as to directly support a large surface of the wood. The lowermost arm A is very greatly thickened downward at the front end, as indicated by At. (See Fig. l.) The arms above have no such thickening, but are thin and lie each entirely between the planes of the top and bottom of the corresponding wood portion B.

On the upright A at each end in the plane oft-he lowerinost arm A', and consequently in the plane of the lowest shelf B, is another arm A2, extending laterally inward a large portion of the distance from this standard to the next. (See Fig. 2.) rlhe bottom of each standardA is smoothly rounded to serve as a foot. From a point near the eXtreme end of each arm A2 a short leg extends downward, as indicated by A3, which contributes another foot at the back a little distance from each end of the structure. The heavy portion at the front of each of the lowermost arms A2 is drilled and tapped and receives a screw-threaded piece D, which is nicely rounded at the bottom and serves as an additional foot. There are thus at the IOO back four feet formedl by the bases of the uprghts A and two more, nearly or exactly in line therewith, formed by the legs A3, extending downward from the arms A2, and four at the front formed by the pieces D, tapped into the thick and heavy portion of the lower arms A.

It is importantto stiffen the device against any lateral racking movements or oscillations. The legs A3, connected to the exterior upright A by the rigid arms A2, contribute to this end. If the frame is racked to the left, the leg A3, near the right of the structure, pressing forcibly on the floor resists the movement, and if the device is racked to the right the corresponding leg A3 on the left side of the structure becomes effective. I provide means for still further stiffening the structure. I widen the back end of the lower arms on the two middle uprights, so that they nearly meet the arms A2, and apply on the under side of the junction a rigid plate E, overlapping strongly upon each and perforated to receive the leg A3, and secure it by riveting both to the arm A of the middle upright and to the arm A2 of the end upright. The same effect can be 0btained by casting the whole in one; but it is more economical in the manufacture and transportation of the parts to make them separate and unite them strongly and stiffly by the riveted plate E, which may be of any desired thickness.

A portion of the wood of each shelf is excavated on the under side a little more than sufficient to receive the proper arm A. Each arm A being deep at and near its junction, with the upright and thinner each side and farther out, I give a corresponding form to the excavation of the wood. The wood may be easily removed either by hand or machinery to a sufiicient extent to receive the arm with a little surplus space. Near the back of the shelf where the wood has been most reduced in thickness there is so little wood left in the upper surface that it is liable to be crushed in any severe use of the stand. Idefend against this by fortifying such portion. G is a plate of thin steel used for this purpose. Its area isindicated in Fig. 4. Its crosssection is shown in Fig. 8. The high portion which applies against the thin part of the wood B is thickly perforated. All parts may be perforated, as shown. When setting this plate, I apply liberally to its upper surface a prepared glue I, which will adhere with force to the steel plate G and also to the wood, thus eifectinga strong junction. The perfectness of the union audits absolute reliability under all conditions is increased by the perforations in the highest part of the plate, and, allowing the glue to flow through these, thus still more reliably unites the metal and the wood.

v H are screws standing in the inclined position, shown inserted through the plate G at the points indicated, and aiding, further, to secure these important strengthening-pieces to the woodof the shelf. These plates G preferably extend only a few inches from the upright.

Itis not easy to produce cavities in the wood whicheitheralone orafterbeingthusequipped with the strengthening-plates G will apply closely and exactly on the corresponding arms A. I do not attempt it, but make the cavity a little in excess, thus allowing for slight imperfections in the forms or surfaces, and also for slight warpings and distortions of the arms. I fill the spaces between the arms and the adjacent surfaces of the wood with what is sometimes known as blue-iron cement, which, being allowed sufficient time to set, perfectly fills the space and makes the work complete. Cementof a suitable character for my purpose may be made by working common brown lime and cement with raw linseed-oil to the consistency of a pudding, with a little litharge, and applying it immediately; or another cement, which may be in some respects superior, may be made by working dry white lead in its ordinary commercial finelydivided condition with copal varnish of like consistency with a little Japan drier. No oil drier should be used.

I apply on the under surface of each shelf, except the bottom one, a sheet of thin dark fabric, extending it smoothly across both the woodwork B and the arms A", and secure it by a thin coating of prepared glue I. This gives a sufficiently smooth and tasty finish for the under side. I produce a proper solution by stirring a good quantity of glue in water with heat, adding about five per cent. of pulverized pumicestone and about half of one per cent. of shellac previously reduced by a suitable solvent, as alcohol or borax water or the like.

The several uprights A are each coated with the prepared glue and neatly wrapped with a good quality of plush, taking care to extend the plush in one piece continuously around and have the joint come in one of the re-entering angles a. This must be skillfully cut for the arms A and to have a sufficient q uantity of the glue to insure perfect adhesion at every point without any excess to saturate the plush and affect the pile, which it is important to preserve with its ne and rich surface.

The uppermost shelf has a bead B along its back edge to serve as a stop in pushing back a j ewelry-trunk or other articles thereon; but the other shelves need not be thus equipped, as the uprightsA serve as a sufficient stop.

My stand may be independent from or may be set against or secured to a wall. It may be inclosed in a case,as a cabinet, a book-case, or a wall show-case.

I claim as my invention-e 1. Inastand for jewelers trunks and analogous uses, a wood shelf B and one or more arms A', of metal, concealed therein and cast or otherwise' formed in one piece or integral with the uprights A, all arranged to serve substantially as herein specified.

2. In a stand for jewelers trunks and analo IOO IIO

gous uses, a series of shelves B and metal arms A', the latter formed integral with one or more uprights A and weighted at the front, as indicated by A, substantially as herein specified.

3. In a stand for jewelers trunks and analogous uses, a series of shelves B and contained metal arms A', the latter formed integral with one or more uprights A, in combination with each other and with metal plates Gr,sep arately attached to reinforce the thin portions of the shelves and With a filling cement, all arranged to serve substantially as herein speciiied.

4;. In a stand for jewelers trunks and analogous uses, a series of shelves B and contained metal arms A', the latter formed integral with two or more uprights A, in combination with each other and with the lateral arms A2 and legs A3, adapted to stiften the structure laterally, as herein specified.

5. In a stand for jewelers trunks and analogous uses, a series of shelves B and contained metal arms A', the latter formed integral with two or more uprights A, in combination with each other and with the lateral arms A2, corresponding extensions from adjacent uprights, and riveted plates E, engaging them stiiily together, all adapted to serve as herein specified.

6. In a stand for jewelers trunks and analogous uses, a series of selves Band contained metal arms A', the latter formed integral with two or more uprights A, in combination with each other and with the lateral arms A2 and legs A3 and riveted plates E, each bridging across from the arm A2 on one upright tothe arm A' on the adjacent upright, adapted to jointly stien the structure laterally, as herein specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN JOHN FLETCHER. Witnesses:

H. A. JoHNsToNE, Josu L. FINGLETON. 

